News

BSW Blog 18th May 2018

Dear Parents/Carers

Next week is ERA Week, our usual timetable will be collapsed to enable our students to take part in a huge variety of activities, trips and experiences. At Bohunt we put equal weight on the lessons learnt from enrichment opportunities as those gained from academic progress; we believe that the ‘life skills’ or ‘character education’ gained through a student’s wider experiences contribute significantly to what makes them robust academically.

As the astronaut Tim Peake said, ‘Character is important – a CV may get you an interview, but character will get you the job.’

Developing life skills and building a resilient character are areas which we embed into the work we do every day at school. ERA Week is all about promoting some of the life skills needed for everyday life, developing the qualities that employers and universities look for, while also giving our students the opportunity to find out about some potentially new interests and passions.

ENJOY

On Wednesday 9 April our students took part in Bohunt’s Got Talent, performing a wide variety of talents showcasing unique skills. Having worked hard through auditions and rehearsals, pupils demonstrated their passion and creativity in their performances. From singing and dancing to improv and drama, the audience was treated to the very best of Bohunt talent. Congratulations to the winners in the group category Harley Bartlett and Finn Banner who gave a wonderful performance of magic tricks. The solo category was won by Quincey Keegan. All students who took part should be very proud of their talents and hard work.

RESPECT

The mental health and wellbeing of our students is vitally important and as such we are proud to have been celebrating Mental Health Awareness Week from 14-18 May. Mr MacInnis gave an important assembly at the start of the week, reminding students of the hundreds of pledges they had created earlier in the year, promising to support positive mental health in school. Throughout the week Miss Langford has prepared presentations for tutor groups, each focusing on a different mental health difficulty that people face. To help raise money for Coastal Mind, a charity helping local people, there will a Gunge the Teacher event on Friday 18 May. Students have been voting for the teacher they most want to see gunged all week. As the results came it became clear that 3 teachers had a very close number of votes; Mr Jones, Mr Goldberg and Miss Henry. Ultimately it was Mr Jones who came out on top and had to face the gunge!

We have had a very successful recruitment season, taking on a number of teaching and non-teaching staff who will join us in September. A big part of the recruitment process is showing candidates our school and this is led by our fantastic students. Student tour guides represent the very best of BSW, welcoming our visitors and promoting the learning that takes place. We are immensely grateful to all students who have taken part in this important job. Today’s tour guides were Tishan, Aaromel, Olivia and Hannah – thank you all!

The school has been delighted to have hosted three trainee teachers from Vancouver Island University in Canada. Since arriving in Worthing on Thursday 26 April, Meghan Campbell, Simin Rupa and Hannah Taves have been getting stuck into life as teachers at BSW. Observing, assisting and taking lessons, our visitors have been on a placement to aid their studies, while also contributing brilliantly. We wish them all the very best when they return to Canada at the end of term.

To support our younger students in Year 7, the Safe Space is open every day at lunchtime in F41 and is available for pupils who may be having difficulties socially or who would benefit from a more structured social time. The Safe Space is run by a selection of Year 10 pupils who dedicate their lunchtimes to creating a positive and safe environment. Their work is very valuable and we think they deserve a big thank you!

ACHIEVE

On Thursday 10 May the first ever GCSE exam was sat at BSW. Students in Year 10 sat the CiDA Digital Applications exam. We wish all the students the very best success with this first exam and all of our GCSE students with their continued studies towards Year 11.

Some excellent sporting news this week as we congratulate the Year 8 football team on winning the County Shield Cup. The team beat Downlands School in a 7-6 thriller. A huge achievement for our dedicated footballers and Mr Goldberg.

Bailey Smith (8FTI) ran at the Sussex County Championships on Sat 12 and Sun 13 May, coming 2nd in the 200m under 15 category and 1st in the 100m under 15 category. Bailey’s 100m time is the fastest for a Year 8 pupil in the UK and his 200m time is the second fastest in the UK! An astonishing achievement. You can read more on Sussex Athletics website.

Do you follow us on Twitter? We have grown from 0 to 843 followers since we began tweeting about the epic journey of Bohunt School Worthing and our amazing students and staff. We tweet regularly, share news as it happens from school and also from the wider Bohunt Trust community. With a finger on the pulse of school life, if you follow @BohuntWorthing you’ll join the action and never miss out! Go on, jump on board, follow @BohuntWorthing and you’ll see who got gunged, what goes on during ERA week – at home and abroad – and much much more!